Therapy Assistant Job Summary
We have an exciting role in our team for an enthusiastic and proactive Speech & Language Therapy Assistant Practitioner. You should have prior experience working as a therapy support worker/rehabilitation assistant, ideally in the clinical area of Stroke.
The successful applicant will join our well-established Speech & Language Therapy team, working alongside experienced Speech & Language Therapists and the wider multidisciplinary team. You will be supported to develop relevant competencies and you will receive on the job training. We are looking for an individual who is motivated with their development, enthusiastic and flexible in their approach to work. The ability to work well with all members of the multi- disciplinary team is essential. You will need to have excellent communication, listening and IT skills, be able to work as part of a team and be able to motivate patients.
Therapy Assistant Main Duties
You will have the opportunity to work with patients throughout the acute Stroke pathway, working across both the hyper-acute unit and the acute stroke unit which are both based at Cheltenham General Hospital. This role involves working directly with patients with communication and/or swallowing difficulties. This may involve admin tasks, carrying out communication screens and therapy programmes directed by qualified therapists, making resources e.g. communication books or utilising technology to enable patients to communicate by alternative means and liaising with multi-disciplinary colleagues.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- GCSE level C or equivalent for literacy and numeracy
- NVQ level 3/City & Guilds in Health & Social care or equivalent experience in healthcare setting
Length and/or nature of Experience
Essential
- Experience as a therapy support worker/rehabilitation assistant in the clinical area of Stroke
- Significant experience of using advanced interpersonal and communication skills with patients and carers
- Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team within an NHS environment
- High level of computer literacy e.g. ability to create communication books on Microsoft Publisher/ability to quickly learn new clinical systems
Desirable
- Experience of working as a Speech & Language Therapy assistant with adults
Professional/Managerial/Specialist Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge about the Speech & Language Therapy profession
Desirable
- Awareness of strategies which support speech, language and communication difficulties
- To be able to perform therapeutic mouth care on nil by mouth patients
Personal skills, abilities and attributes
Essential
- Ability to recognise and to work within appropriate boundaries of policies, professional standards and requirements e.g. working with dysphagia
- Demonstrate an ability to act on own initiative when working independently in challenging environments
- To produce accurate documentation of treatments
- To be able to use verbal and non-verbal communication skills with patients and relatives where there will often be barriers to effective communication.
- To be approachable and be able to work flexibly in response to the changing demands of the service
- To be able to deal sensitively with patient and/or relatives who have high levels of anxiety/aggression associated with dementia, cognitive or communication difficulties
- Work and maintain judgment under pressure whilst effectively managing time.
- Demonstrate an ability to act on own initiative when working independently in challenging environments
- To be able to perform treatments with stroke patients with moderate to intense mental and emotional effort on a daily basis.
- Demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning, with self-awareness of own knowledge and learning needs, and ability to seek support appropriately.
- To be able to communicate effectively with SLT and MDT colleagues regarding patient progress
- To be able to accurately and appropriately relay information from other members of the MDT to Speech and Language Therapy colleagues
Desirable
- To develop negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a range of situations
- To be able to deliver an assessment or therapy session for patients with non-complex communication difficulties, adapting as appropriate depending on patient response
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Closing Date: 05 May 2025
